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Milwaukee Brewers (minor league baseball team)
The Milwaukee Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They played in the American Association from 1902 through 1952. Franchise history A Milwaukee Tradition The nickname "Brewers" has been used by baseball teams since at least the 1880s, although none of those clubs ever enjoyed a measure of success or stability. That would change with Milwaukee's entry into the American Association, which would last fifty years and provide the city's springboard into the major leagues. The American Association The American Association Milwaukee Brewers were founded in 1902, after the American League Brewers moved to St. Louis and became the St. Louis Browns. The Brewers did not win their first American Association championship until 1913, then repeated the next year. Over 20 years would pass before they claimed another with a 90-64 club in 1936 as a Detroit affiliate. In 1944, the team won again, placing the team in the top 100. Three years later, the Brewers became a farm team of the Boston Braves. Although this move eventually paved the way for the team’s demise, in the short run it led directly to Milwaukee’s final two league championships—one in 1951 when they also won the Junior World Series, followed by an even better team the next year. Bill Veeck and Jolly Cholly In 1941 the club was purchased by Bill Veeck (son of former Chicago Cubs president William Veeck Sr., in a partnership with former Cubs star Charlie Grimm. Under Veeck's ownership, the Brewers would become one of the most colorful squads in baseball and Veeck would be become one of the game's premiere showmen. Constantly creating new promotional gimmicks, Veeck gave away live animals, scheduled morning games for wartime night shift workers, staged weddings at home plate, and even sent Grimm a birthday cake containing a much-needed left-handed pitcher. When Grimm was hired as the manager of the Cubs, he recommended that Casey Stengel be hired to replace him. Veeck was opposed to the idea - Stengel had little success in his previous managerial stints with the Dodgers and Braves - but as Veeck was stationed overseas in the Marine Corps, Grimm won out. The club went on to win the 1944 American Association pennant, and Stengel's managerial career was resurrected. In 1945, after winning three pennants in five years, Veeck sold his interest in the Brewers for a $275,000 profit. The coming of the Braves Milwaukee had long been coveted by major league teams looking for a new home. Bill Veeck himself tried to relocate the St. Louis Browns back to Milwaukee in the late 1940s, but his move was vetoed by the other American League owners. The city of Milwaukee, hoping to attract a major league club, constructed Milwaukee County Stadium for the 1953 season. The Brewers were set to move in, until Spring Training of 1953, when Lou Perini moved his Boston Braves to Milwaukee. The Brewers moved to Toledo, where they became the next incarnation of the Toledo Mud Hens. The new Mud Hens continued their winning ways, claiming an American Association pennant in their first season in Ohio. Legacy - Return of the Brewers The legacy of the American Association Milwaukee Brewers continues in the major league Milwaukee Brewers, which took its name from the 1902-1952 club. After the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1965, local automobile dealer and Braves part-owner Bud Selig created a group to lobby for a new major league club in Milwaukee. As a name for his group, he chose "Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club, Inc.", after the American Association club he grew up watching. As a logo, he chose the Beer Barrel Man in navy and red - traditional Brewers colors. When Selig bought the one year-old Seattle Pilots franchise in the spring of 1970, he moved them to Milwaukee and they officially became the "new" major-league Milwaukee Brewers. The club continued to use the Beer Barrel Man as the team's primary logo until 1978. Recently, it has seen a resurgence on throwback merchandise, and been featured on several stadium promotions. The current Brewers have played in the National League since 1998, when the franchise switched over from the American League after 29 years in the Junior Circuit as both the Pilots and the Brewers. American Association championships * 1913 * 1914 * 1936 * 1944 * 1951 * 1952 Junior World Series appearances The Junior World Series was held between the champions of the American Association and the International League. * 1936 - defeated Buffalo, 4 games to 1 * 1947 - defeated Syracuse, 4 games to 3 * 1951 - defeated Montreal, 4 games to 2 Ballpark During its 51-year tenure in the American Association, Milwaukee played in the same ballpark. Originally constructed in 1888, it was located in the North side of Milwaukee on a rectangular city block with the main entrance on Chambers St. between Eighth and Ninth Streets. It had abnormally short foul lines, 268 feet to left and right. The fences then angled out sharply, making for deep "power alleys" and center field was 400 feet from home plate. It was known as Athletic Park until 1928 when it was renamed Borchert Field in honor of Brewers owner Otto Borchert, who had died the previous year. The Polo Grounds had a similar configuration. Borchert Field was also the first Milwaukee home park for the Green Bay Packers, who played the New York Giants on Oct. 1, 1933. The following year, the Packers moved their Milwaukee games to the Wisconsin State Fair Grounds. Interstate 43 now runs through where Borchert Field once stood. Notable figures Notable Owners * Bill Veeck * Frederick Miller Notable managers * Casey Stengel * Charlie Grimm * Nick Cullop * Red Smith Notable players * Alvin Dark * Happy Felsch * Chet Laabs * Don Liddle * Johnny Logan * Stoney McGlynn * Hal Peck * Newt Randall * Floyd Speer * Rudy York External links *The history of the Brewers' Beer Barrel Man *Top 100 Minor League teams of the 20th Century #54: 1952 Milwaukee Brewers *Top 100 Minor League teams of the 20th Century #100: 1944 Milwaukee Brewers *American Association Almanac entry on the Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Brewers